The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

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Sunday, April 24, 2016

Russian forces in Syria have fired at least twice on Israeli aircraft and a Russian jet approached an Israeli warplane off Syrian coast last week, according to reports • PM Benjamin Netanyahu: Moscow visit "important for the national security of Israel."

The reason for Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's impromptu visit to Moscow on Thursday was that Russian
forces in Syria have fired at least twice on Israeli military aircraft,
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday. The unsourced
report gave no dates or locations for the incidents, nor any indication
that Israeli planes were hit.

After meeting with Russian President Vladimir
Putin on Thursday, Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces and Russian
armed forces operating in Syria had encountered problems and frictions,
but that the issues were resolved during his six-hour visit to Moscow that day. The prime minister was joined in the Russian capital by Air Force chief Maj. Gen Amir Eshel.

Separately, Israel's Channel 10 reported that a
Russian warplane approached an Israeli warplane off the Mediterranean
coast of Syria last week, but there was no contact between them.

An IDF spokesman declined to comment. Netanyahu's office and the Russian Embassy in Israel did not immediately respond.

According to Yedioth, the reported Russian
fire on Israeli planes was first raised with Putin by President Reuven
Rivlin, who visited Moscow on March 15. At the time, Putin responded
that he was unaware of the incidents, Yedioth said.

Netanyahu said Thursday's meeting was
"important for the national security of Israel." He said Putin "proposed
that the air force chief and his military secretary meet with the
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and a number of Russian
generals," and that the meeting took place while he was meeting with
Putin.

"During the meeting we made it clear that we
have to maintain the air force's operational freedom, and that was
achieved," Netanyahu said.

"Some problems had arisen. Naturally there is
always friction, and if it isn't addressed, things can develop into
something very serious. We saw it in a different sector [in the tensions
between Russia and Turkey] and from the outset we wanted to prevent
something similar. So I flew to Moscow about half a year ago, once
Russian forces [began operating in Syria], because it was important to
attain this coordination. And this coordination requires maintenance
from the leaders. The fact that I brought the air force chief helped
secure this very important coordination for the IDF.

"I came here with one main goal: to strengthen
the security coordination between us so as to avoid mishaps,
misunderstandings and unnecessary confrontations," Netanyahu said.

He stressed that Israel is continuing to
protect its interests, which have already been outlined publicly,
including not allowing the transfer of advanced weapons sold by Russia
to Iran to reach Hezbollah.

"Israel has clear red lines for the purpose of
self-defense," the prime minister told reporters. "We are working to
the best of our ability to prevent the transfer of sophisticated
weaponry from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Secondly, we are
working to prevent another terrorist front from being established
against us on the Golan Heights. These are red lines, and we will
continue to preserve them."

Asked by reporters whether the IDF's
operational freedom has been hindered, Netanyahu said, "Our operational
freedom has not been diminished, but if you are in a situation of
friction, one or more times perhaps, then you can find yourself in a
situation where things happen that will consequently affect your
operational freedom. There is no problem at the moment, but the friction
requires coordination, so that our operational freedom remains intact
and continues to remain intact down the road."

In addition to the matter of coordination with
the Russians in Syria, Netanyahu noted two other issues that arose
during his meeting with Putin: Israel's desire for the Golan Heights to
be internationally recognized as Israeli territory, and to reach a
settlement on the matter of Israeli immigrants from Russia who have not
received their Russian pensions.

According to Netanyahu, at the beginning of
his meeting with Putin he told him that "[Israel] will not go back to
the days of having our communities and children fired upon from atop the
Golan. Therefore, with or without an agreement, the Golan Heights will
remain under Israeli sovereignty."

Regarding the issue of unrealized pensions for
Israeli-Russians, Netanyahu said a finalized agreement on the matter
would be signed on June 7, during the prime minister's next visit to
Moscow to mark the 25-year anniversary of diplomatic relations between
Russia and Israel. Netanyahu was also accompanied by Immigrant
Absorption Minister Zeev Elkin on his visit to the Kremlin Thursday, who
said reaching a settlement on the pension matter was the culmination of
"something we have fought for over many years, and now the problem is
resolved. Today, 30,000 people receive their pensions, and in light of
this agreement an additional 30,000 Israeli citizens from the former
Soviet Union will receive them."